On 6 March, Inner West Crime Prevention Unit presented their first ThinkUKnow cyber safety presentation at the Brookfield State School to Grades 4 & 5 and 6 & 7 students. It is the first nationally delivered crime prevention program in Australia.
ThinkUKnow provides cyber safety presentations that cover a wide range of topics that include:
- Sexting
- Cyber bullying
- Online child exploitation
- Online privacy
- What to do when something goes wrong online
The presentations are targeted at parents, teachers, carers, and young people from Kindergarten to Grade 12.
Ongoing Cyberbullying Issues
In January, an urgent roundtable was called by Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk to tackle cyberbullying. This was prompted by the death of “Dolly” Amy Jayne Everette who committed suicide at 14 after she was bullied.
The government then announced that they would establish an anti-bullying taskforce for a new anti-bullying framework for Queensland. They will also provide $60,000 to Yourtown, a charity that manages the Kids Helpline and Parentline. The government will also launch an anti-bullying public awareness campaign.
Queensland Schools Take Action
Bullying has been an ongoing issue in the nation. In fact, last year, there have been talks about a crackdown on smartphones in schools to stifle online bullying. Top Queensland schools such as Hillbrook in Enoggera made a decision to ban the use of smartphone this year.
On the other hand, Kelvin Grove State College also banned students in junior and middle schools from using their mobile phones on school grounds last year.
The ThinkUKnow program is in partnership with the Australian Federal Police (AFP), Microsoft Australia, Datacom and the Commonwealth Bank.